There is a contrast given to us today between the person who takes the word
of God into his or her heart and soul and acts on it and the person who
simply speaks the word of God but does not live it. In our hearts there is
the struggle to do Godís word faithfully.

The first reading today, from the Book of Deuteronomy, puts so eloquently
what God wants of us: Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
The author of this book goes on to give us some tips about how to remember
these words so that we can take them into our heart and soul. He tells us
to bind them on our wrists and put them on our foreheads. In our present
day secular culture, people often put notes on their computers or on their
doors or on their mirrors. This reading raises in us the question of how
we try to remember the word of God and bring it fully into our hearts and
our souls.

The Letter to the Romans, from which comes our second reading, puts its
focus on faith: we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from
works of the law. We could ask a question very similar to one that Jesus
poses elsewhere: who has faith? The one who does the works of faith or
the one who only speaks about it?

The Gospel of Matthew today also poses this same question about belief.
The Gospel tells us that doing mighty works is not enough. Even doing
mighty works in the name of the Lord is not enough. We must believe from
our heart and soul.

So today we are invited to become followers of Christ in a totally
committed way, both believing and doing. Doing, by itself, is no good.
Believing without acting on the belief is not belief. Let us believe and
do!